Chapter 33 – Simple Things
I woke up the next day feeling pretty damn good. I got up, got dressed and headed to the kitchen for some cereal and juice to start the day so that I could go work on the car without worrying about a hunger induced headache. A nasty little event that I am prone to.
I was busily crunching away on Total Raisin Bran while listening to the morning news when Brian and his sister walked in. I looked up, shoveled another bite of cereal into my mouth and kept crunching.
"Morning." Fiona said. I gave a jaunty little wave. My mouth was full. Brian smiled.
"Someone's in a good mood." He taunted me affectionately. I swallowed and stuck out my tongue. I guess it still had some bits of cereal on it. "Letty that's gross!" Brian shouted at me, laughing the whole time.
"I'm just glad the car is almost done. Today is the day."
"The day for what?" Brian asked. Clearly mornings are not his smart time of day.
"The day it's done dumb ass. The day I get to start it up, the day it's ready to be driven, even if it will look like shit till it gets paint."
"I lost track of the time while I was gone. Shit. I can't believe it's been two weeks already." Brian sat down and grabbed the box of cereal and the milk.
"What are you doing?" I asked him in shock.
"Having breakfast. Why?"
"You know that's healthy food right?" I asked him, mock look of terror on my face. Brian didn't like breakfast unless it was swimming in its own fat and grease. Fiona laughed.
"Yeah, but it's ready now and I'd have to cook anything else."
"He might just implode due to his stomach not knowing what hit it." Fiona added and sat down to help herself to an orange out of the basket on the table.
"No kidding." I answered as I slurped the last of my milk out of my bowl.
"I'd forgotten just how much breakfast at Dom's looked like pigs around a trough." Brian teased as I wiped milk off my chin with the hem of my pre-stained garage wife beater.
"I'd forgotten just how horrible your taste in food was till I watched you eat half a pack of bacon and feed the other half of it to your best friend. Not to mention the three quarters of a dozen eggs you split to go with it, and half a loaf of junk white bread."
"Yeah, well..." Brian was trying to come up with a retort. I beat him to it.
"Even Vince can't pack food away like you can. I'd swear you had a hollow leg or somethin."
"Well, that's because I need the protein to run my huge brain, an issue that Vince does not have to worry about." Brian quipped back at me.
"Vince is just as smart as you are Brian. He doesn't get called Coyote for nothing."
"Yeah, I've seen lots of his smarts in action." Brian retorted sarcastically.
"Hey, he knew you were a cop from day one, you never fooled him. If you wanna call someone stupid you should be calling big bad Dominic stupid. You had him fooled from day one."
"I guess." Brian couldn't dispute my logic so he let it go. Fiona had watched with a look of amusement on her face.
"You know you guys are just like brother and sister. You fight more then Brian and I ever did."
"We don't fight a lot. We have differences of opinion more often then some people is all." I said on my way out the door.
"Yeah, that's it." Fiona laughed at my back as I jumped off the back deck of the boat and headed up the grass toward the shop. I headed straight back to my area, turned on the music and started adding the front suspension to the car.
You know, some of this shit was not really meant to ever come off and it really does not want to go back on. I was having some trouble with it but I was still confident I'd have it done by the end of the day. And if I didn't then my day wouldn't end till I did have it done. It was that simple.
By lunch time I had it a quarter done. But I was confident that the parts I had gotten done were the hard parts. I was fairly sure I'd have it done by supper. But if not I had often put in days till 8 or 9 and I'd just do it again.
Lunch was something quick and unmemorable I ate at my bench and then I got right back to work. Mid afternoon saw me three quarters done. I was grunting with the effort of holding a strut in place while trying to get it to mount to the steering knuckle when Tej walked up.
"How's it goin girl?"
"It's goin." I answered and with another loud, very unladylike grunt/cuss word got the thing lined up and one of the very large bolts that held it in place in. That accomplished I took Tej's offered hand and stood up off the floor.
"It looks good. You think you gonna be done on time?"
"I don't think, I know."
"I see." Tej grinned.
"Yeah, get on! Get outta here. I gotta keep workin here." I smirked while I shoed him out of my space.
"Ok, but I wanna know the minute it's done."
"Ok, ok, but it ain't gonna fix itself, so you better let me get back to it."
"I get it, I get it." Tej headed away shaking his head and mumbling to himself.
I caught Rome giving me some sort of unreadable look but I shook him off and went back to work. I didn't have time to deal with my lingering anger toward Rome. I was too damn busy. Humming along with my music I went back to work and lost myself in the world of wheel bearings and brake rotors.
4:30 saw me bleeding off the clutch slave cylinder and the brakes. After that I put the wheels on and it was ready to test start. It was rollin on 18's, Enkei's Es-Tarmaks, and the shoes were Toyo's cause they were my favorite tire, as the decal on my car would lead you to believe. The brakes were Brembo of course, the suspension Koni, the clutch Act-II, the intake HKS, the add on turbo by Garrett, and I could really go on forever. Tej was likely to shit when he got the bills no matter how crazy he'd told me to go on building the car. I'd bought the best of everything. The car was so light from the factory nothing was needed in the way of weight reduction.
I realized I had the garage to myself at that point. I guess everyone else had gone to enjoy the sun down on the docks. I was the only one around. I turned the music up even louder to cover my yelling for joy that it was done. The car was done! On time. I did it.
Me!
Not Dom. Not Vince, Leon or Jesse. Me. It was my success. Mine alone. I did it by myself. Well, with a little help from Vince. But not enough to count. That's my story and I'm sticken to it. Of course I still had to start it.
I pulled the relay for the fuel pump and turned the key. The car tried to start like it was supposed to but it never cranked over. Of course it couldn't, not without gas. That was what I wanted. I wanted it to prime the oil and all the other fluids all through the engine before I put the stress of actually running on it.
After I cranked it a few times I put the relay for the fuel pump back in and got into the driver's seat. I took a deep breath, held it and turn the key. More sputtering as it tried to start. That's ok, they don't all start first try, try it again Letty. I repeated it all to myself over and over as I counted to thirty in my head and tried again. Whir whir whir whir, no answering roar to the cranking engine.
Shit!
It should have started by now if it was going to. God damn it. I had no idea what could be wrong with it. I'd primed it all, put the relay back in, checked the wires all over three times. I tested the battery and it was fully charged. I was fighting hyperventilating. I didn't have time for this.
Ok Letty, calm down. Think.
What does an engine need to start?
A mechanic who isn't incompetent working on it!
Stop putting yourself down, I admonished myself. What does it really need to start?
Air, fuel, spark and controls to run them all. Ok, jumping off point.
Car had lots of air, the K N filter was in place and properly connected. Air was covered.
Ok, spark. Checked the plug wires, none crossed. All six cylinders have sparkplugs, check. I put a spark tester on it and cranked it over. The sparks made little noises as they grounded out like when you touch someone after you rub your feet across carpet. So air, check, spark, check. Engine was in perfect time so it wasn't a problem with how I'd set up the timing belt or the ignition timing. Damn. Ok, next.
Fuel. Well damn, what could be wrong there? I put the relay back in. I don't know what the hell is wrong with this car but I'm gonna have grey hair when I wake up tomorrow. Ok, on with the tests. Check the injectors. They're firing. Double damn. I'm starting to run out of ideas. I do not want to ask for help with this.
I took a break and sat on the floor against the wall and just thought. What could be wrong with the damn thing? I was almost in tears looking at it sitting there, looking so normal, other then needing a paint job. But refusing to start. I'd been over everything. There was nothing else to check. I put my head down on my knees.
"You ok?" I looked up to see Brian looking down at me.
"No. Damn car won't start."
"Shit. You check it over?"
"Ten times." I said irately, I was pissed he was askin me stupid questions. But he was just trying to help. I took a deep breath. "Yes, I checked everything over and over."
"Ok, be logical. You got spark?"
"Yeah."
"It's not out of time is it?"
"Nope."
"You sure?"
"Well, valve timing is dead on, hard to know about ignition timing for sure when it doesn't run, but it looks good to me."
"You sure you didn't time the engine on the exhaust stroke instead of top dead center?"
"Yes, I have timed engines before."
"Ok, ok, just checking." Brian held up his hands in surrender.
"I know, but I checked that while I did it and again when it wouldn't start." I leaned my head back against the wall, still choking back frustrated tears.
"Primed the pump?"
"Oil and gas."
"Injectors firing?"
"Yep."
"You fill the tank? You know some cars don't run right under a quarter...." He trailed off as I started to laugh. I laughed till tears ran down my face. Brian looked confused. "You ok Let?"
"I forgot to fill the damn tank." I gasped. I had too. I was such an idiot.
"You what?" Brian still looked confused.
"I've been done with it for an hour or more, here trying to diagnose the no start and I forgot to put gas in it Brian. The damn tank is stone empty."
With that Brian started to join me in laugher. We both laughed till we were gasping for breath. It felt good. Now if the car just starts when I oh, put gas in the tank, life will be good.
"I guess I was so caught up in the big things I forgot a simple little thing like putting gas in the new tank."
"Oh man Letty, that's priceless. Letty, the secret behind DT performance forgot to put gas in the car. It's something any of us would do though."
"Well, let's fill it up and give it a try." I stood up.
And we filled the tank and then we primed the fuel pump again and I again slid into the driver's seat and turned the key. This time it whirred a few times and came to life with a roar.
Brian and I high fived and I yelled "yes!" at the top of my lungs. The I looked around and muttered, "Oh my, the smoke!" As the oil that I'd used to assemble the thing burned off.
"You know what we should do?" Brian asked.
"No, what?"
"Drive it down to the dock and surprise the hell outta Tej."
"Chumpy, that is the best idea you had all day." Brian slid into the passenger seat after hitting the button that would open the garage door. I pushed the clutch and put it in first. We rolled out the door and headed down to the garage.
We rolled right up behind Tej but he didn't turn around. I guess he didn't recognize the engine anymore. I hit the horn from a position about three feet behind him. He jumped in the air and spun around to glare at us.
Brian and I waved happily from the cockpit of his newly rebuilt car. His glare turned into a gaze of wonder. He walked around to my window.
"Holy shit you did it. It's done, and one day early."
"Naw, the work day was over, tomorrow morning was one day beyond two weeks. I'd say I got it done on time, but not early."
"But you still got it done. This is great." He was looking over the car like a kid at Christmas.
"Well, you'll want to try it out." I said and went to get out of the car.
"Naw, that's ok girl. You can just park it back in the garage. I'll try it out later. I'm busy right now." He sounded more scared then busy.
"You sure. I mean, you had me spend like 40,000 dollars on this car and you don't even want to drive it?"
"I do, I just can't right now. I'll go for a drive in it tomorrow."
"Ok, if you're sure."
"Yeah, perfectly. You and Brian take it for a spin and make sure it's runnin good and I'll take it for a run tomorrow."
"Ok then."
Brian and I took the car out with one of Tej's dealer plates on it. "Wasn't that a bit weird Bri?"
"What?"
"If I wrecked the Silvia and then after over a year it was finally back on the road I'd want to take it for a drive right away."
"Yeah, but he was busy. You know he'd have liked to take the car out Letty, but all those people are betting on his little water races n'stuff."
"Ok Brian but he still seemed weird about it."
"You'll see tomorrow, he'll want to drive it then."
"We'll see." With that I took a turn off to a back road and put the pedal down. The car was amazing. The weight was so perfectly balanced, the engine so totally responsive. I couldn't explain how it made me feel to drive a car like this. My car was great but this car was...
Perfect.
It was an honest to god race car. I was driving a real race car. I laughed with the shear joy of it all and Brian joined me. "You want to try it Brian?"
"You wouldn't mind?"
"It's not even my car." Plus I was falling in love with it. I felt like I was cheating on my own car. Raiden was great but this was a Car, Car with a capital C.
"Ok then."
I pulled over and we switched seats. Brian drove with a bit more restraint then I did but he still put the car through its paces. We had fun and by the end whether I drove it myself or not I had fallen for an Acura. Oh shit. I better take my car out for a run so I can remember why I love him so much.
We parked the car and Brian headed for the boat. He looked back over his shoulder. "You comin?"
"Not right now. I'm gonna go for a drive in my own car first."
"Ok, be safe."
"Yeah, thanks Brian. See you later."
"Later." He headed home and I got into my car. I tore off, able to be more daring in my own car then in a borrowed one. While I drove I thought about a lot of things.
I missed my friends. I missed them more when one of them was hurt. I hated the fact that I liked another car almost, and I stressed almost now that I was back behind my own wheel, liked another car as much as my own. I hated being without Dom, much as I was mad at him and I hated being in a fight with Rome.
I had this dropped feeling in the bottom of my stomach that I had a funny feeling wasn't going to go away till some of these issues had answers. One of the things I was going to worry about was Leon and his car/not going to jail issue. I'd have to call Vince again in the morning and see how things were.
And that made me think of something I could do that would make me feel a bit better about not being there for Leon. I headed back to the garage with some things a bit more settled.
For now.
I went to the boat and walked in on Brian and Fiona playing cards at the kitchen table.
"You wanna play?" Fiona asked.
"Um, maybe later." I said and looked at Brian. "Bri?"
"Yeah."
"You know how Leon wrecked his car?"
"Yeah?" Brian looked at me in curiosity.
"Do you think I could fix her like I fixed Tej's car?"
"Sure Letty. You could try at least, but the skyline is in California."
"Well, Vince could ship it here. He's been here so him knowing the address won't be a big deal. I mean, he'd have to get it back from the police though. Is there any way that could happen?"
"Yeah, if they don't need it for evidence. What if Leon asks for it back?"
"Vince could just tell him the cops crushed it. Then when we show up back in California with it it'll be a total surprise to him."
"Didn't Vince tell you the car was totaled?"
"Yeah, but so was Tej's Acura. That's good as new, so why shouldn't the skyline get a similar treatment?"
"No reason." Fiona broke in. "If you want to try to do it for your friend then you should try to do it. I'll have my dad try to pull a few strings to get the car released."
"Fiona, I don't think asking your dad to do my team any favors is a good idea."
"He doesn't have to know who the car is for, just that I want it here."
"How will your dad have any pull with LAPD?"
"He's FBI." Brian answered on a sigh. "He's got lots of pull. Its how I made detective so fast."
"He's gonna know that it's a street racing car Fiona. You told me he hates anything that's against the law."
"He does, but I'll just tell him it's a gift for a good friend. He'll help. He might not like it but he'll help."
"Ok, I'll call Vince in the morning to get it started."
"Why not call him now?" Brian asked. "It's only 12 here so it's only 10 there. He's not gonna be asleep."
"Ok ok, sheesh, who's more excited about this?"
"Well, I liked Leon. He was pretty cool after the first night."
"Why wasn't he cool on the first night?"
"Because he wanted to help Vince beat the snot out of me."
"Yeah, my guys rove in packs."
"You can say that again. Even Jesse was gonna join in."
"He follows Vince a bit blindly. He looks up to ol' coyote."
"I coulda taken any one of them, but not all three at once."
"You're lucky Dom didn't join in."
"No kidden!"
"Is he big?" Fiona broke in.
"He's a fair size." I answered with a smirk.
"Letty, that smirk better not be over what I think it's over." Brian cringed. Fiona laughed.
"Well, you've seen him. Ever since boy got out of Lompoc he's been pretty built."
"He did time in Lompoc?" Fiona asked.
"Yeah, two years for aggravated assault. Over the thing with his dad." I elaborated. Fiona nodded. "And Brian, you's a pervert to think I was implying other things."
"You had that look on your face." Brian protested his pervertedness. I picked up the cell phone that Brian had pretty much given to me. The FBI never called once. I dialed up the house and listened to it ring.
"Hello." A deep baritone came across the line. Dom answered. Oh shit. I never anticipated that.
"Hey. I need to talk to V." I cut to the chase.
"Letty." He sighed, a deep heartfelt sigh that almost made me feel bad for him.
Almost.
"Where are you?" His voice sounded so...Well, sad. Really sad. I moved into my room to have this conversation in private.
"I'm home Dom."
"No you aren't!" He yelled at me. So much for sad. "Your home is here with me!" Eureka, there with him, not there with the team.
"Not right now it's not Dom. It's here where I am. You made sure it wasn't my home when you decided you didn't want me to be with you in it." He sighed again. I was pushing his buttons from 3000 miles away. It's hardly fair I guess. It's one of my issues I need to work out. "I'm sorry." I mumbled. I might be sorry but I didn't have to like it.
"Sorry for what?" He asked warily. I'd made him that way, always saying it then having a smart-alecky comment when he responded.
"For pushing you around over the phone. But Dom, I still think I need some time alone here."
"You're not alone. You live with another man. Vince told me." Dom sounded strange, kinda jealous, kinda sad, kinda angry. I kinda liked the jealous part. He'd never really gotten jealous of things I did before.
"I have a roommate who is male. I am not living with another man, living with another man."
"Same thing." Dom said petulantly.
"To you maybe." I smiled. Dom growled. "Dominic Toretto, are you jealous of my roommate?"
"N...No. What would make you say that?"
"The way you said living with another man. You're jealous." I giggled. I giggled on the phone with Dom. Girls giggle. Tough racer chicks don't giggle. I don't know if he's ever heard me giggle before. I giggled more because I was analyzing what me giggling on the phone meant.
"I am not jealous." Dom growled. "Letty, I am not jealous." He tried to convince me but I could tell he was. I could tell he was embarrassed because I caught him being jealous. He's never had a reason to be before. He's given me lots of reasons but he's never had one.
"Yes you are. I think I like it. I think we're getting somewhere here Dominic. Jealous means you care about me."
"Damn Letty, of course I care about you. Do you think I'd have stayed with you all this time if I didn't?"
"Well, I admit you breaking up with me sorta shook my confidence a bit Dom."
"Shit Letty. I didn't break up with you!"
"Then what did you do?"
"I told you I needed time to get over some stuff."
"That's breaking up Dom. Taking time to work out stuff is together. Singular I need to work stuff out is breaking up. It's right along the 'it's not you it's me shit' that guys pull when they want you to go away but they don't want you to feel bad about it." I was having a mostly civil conversation with Dom about relationships. Maybe things were looking up. Maybe it was time to move onto neutral territory.
"It's not how I meant it Let."
"I know, but it still came off that way. This is going to be good for us Dom. You'll see. How's Leon?" How's that for a segue?
"He's fine. He doesn't know that his car is wrecked yet. He wasn't awake when they got him out of it."
"Did they have to cut him out?" I asked. That could make it hard to fix.
"No. But he wasn't conscious so they had to help him out." Dom made one of his little I-don't-want-to-tell-you-this-but-I-don't-know-how-not-to noises. "He could go to jail over it Letty."
"For what?"
"For reckless endangerment. They figure he was going a buck twenty in downtown L.A. when he wiped out."
"It's not like Leon to drive that fast in the city. Do you know what he was thinking?"
"He'd just broken up with Karla and he was pissed."
"Who's Karla?" My eyes narrowed and the question came off really bitchy. But I mean, my guys were getting girlfriends and I wasn't there to kick the puta's asses when they broke their hearts? I didn't like that one bit.
"Some girl he liked who didn't like him as much as he thought she did. He caught her with another man."
"Oh, poor Leon. Did he really like her, like really?"
"I guess. I didn't see him with anyone else for the week they were together. I mean, I know he was only really mad about it because he caught her cheating."
"I know how he feels." It was out before I thought about it. I didn't mean to say it to him.
I swear.
I really didn't want to bring it up. He has said he's sorry a hundred times and it had been a long time since he'd done it. I did know how Leon felt to catch someone he thought was exclusively involved with, with someone else. But I didn't have to make Dom think I was throwing it in his face. He'd gone silent. "Jesus Dominic, I'm sorry. I just didn't think." I sat on my bed.
"Guess it's just the truth Letty." He sounded so very...Beaten. I was upset with myself that I'd made him feel that way. So much for still angry with him I guess.
"Yeah, but I didn't have to bring it up. It was a long time ago."
"But I hurt you and I'm sorry."
"I know you are Dom. I mean it, I'm sorry that I spoke without thinking." I really was. But this felt positive too. He was talking to me about serious things like feelings and old hurts and neither of us were yelling.
"I did it Letty, I guess it's not a crime to talk about it."
"But if we're gonna get past it then I have to let it go." And I did. And he had to stop doing it. "But just to be clear we're talking about me letting the past go. If the past ever becomes the present then I don't think I'll ever let it go again, and I'll be redecorating faces again too."
Dom laughed. He actually laughed. It was deep and rumbling and echoed in my soul. How long had it been since we'd laughed together like we were? Too long. "I read you Letty. Letty?"
"Yeah Dom?"
"What was that name that Brian use to have for you. Use to go around here callin you?"
"Why?"
"Just cause."
"Reina. He use to call me Reina."
"What's that mean?"
"You know what it means Dom. I'm sure he told you."
"No he didn't. What's it mean." I knew he knew what it meant but he wanted me to tell him again for some reason that only Dom knew. I decided to oblige him.
"It means queen Dom. He called me that because you were the king and I was the queen."
"Not was Letty. Are. You are the queen. My queen. Don't forget."
"I won't." I almost cried. This is Dom being this sweet. I sniffled. It doesn't happen much but when it does...Oh boy! "Can I talk to Vince now?"
"Yeah." I heard him get up and move around the house, then start down the basement stairs.
"Dom?" I asked in a small voice.
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad we talked." My way of saying I miss you without coming right out and saying it.
"Me too. Here's Vince. Um Letty?"
"Yeah Dom?"
"Yo Quiero." He said it so quietly I wasn't even sure I'd heard him right and his spoken Spanish had never been that great. If I heard him right he'd just told me he wanted me. I wondered just what he meant by it. He wanted me back, he wanted me because he hadn't slept with anyone since I left. I have to think he means he misses me too and he wants me back. I didn't get a chance to ask him about it because he handed over the phone to Vince without another word.
"Letty?"
"Hey V."
"What's the matter Let?"
"Nothing's the matter. Why?"
"You sound like you're crying."
"I'm not crying Vince. I was just talking to Dom."
"Good talk?"
"Yeah. Good talk. So, I need your help V."
"With what Letty?" He sounded suspicious, like he wasn't gonna like whatever came next.
"I want you to ship Leon's car to me. I have a contact that's gonna get the car outta impound but I want you to send it to me. And you can't tell anyone."
"What do you want that hunka junk for Letty?"
"I'm gonna fix it for him."
"Let, you're in over your head." Vince growled.
"Maybe, but the thing is junk as it is right?"
"Yeah."
"Then what's the difference if you send it to me and let me try to fix it up?"
"None I guess." He didn't sound happy about it.
"Tell no one Vince. I mean it. I want it to be a surprise."
"Ok. Night Letty."
He just didn't want to talk to me anymore because a) I was frustrating him and b) he wanted to go pump Dominic for info on what we talked about. "Night Vince." I answered and hung up. I walked back out to the kitchen table and sat down heavily into a chair.
"How'd it go? Is Vince going to send the car?"
"Yeah, under protest."
"He protested for some time huh?" Fiona asked, smiling.
"No, Dominic answered the phone not Vince."
"How'd that go?" Brian asked, concerned.
"Well. We worked some stuff out. I think when I go back things'll be different."
"That's good. You set a date?"
"Nope, you're safe. For now." Brian blanched slightly and I laughed. "Chill chumpy. I'll protect you from big bad Vince when we go back."
"It's not Vince I'm worried about."
"Oh?"
"Not only am I going to be the lying cop to Dom, I'm gonna be the lying cop who kept you away from him."
"I can control Dominic, don't you worry."
"Ok." Brian didn't look all that relieved. We played a bit of cards then all headed off to bed shortly after. I got up the next day and headed up to the garage to find Tej staring at the car.
"I know it's ugly right now but with the right paint it will look just as good as new." Tej jumped at bit.
"Yeah. You did good. Go ahead and start ordering the paint and interior stuff you need. I can't wait to see what you do with it from a design point of view."
"Thanks."
"I can't believe you are actually going to let her paint the car!" Suki broke in. "Tej, that's what I do around here."
"I know Suki but a deal is a deal. I said she could do it and she's gonna do it."
"But Tej!" Suki started to whine.
"Oh for God's sake, he said no you little whiney brat." I said and stared her down.
"You shut up you little puta!"
Oh no she didn't. "You better muzzle your bitch before I put her outta her misery." I addressed Tej not Suki.
"You're gonna pay!" Suki screamed in her whiney little voice and flew at me. I met her half way. I got one good punch in proving the little bitch didn't learn her lesson from last time. That was about when Tej grabbed her and Rome grabbed me and they hauled us apart.
"I told you girls to leave it on the street!" Tej roared. I shook Rome off and glared at him. He backed off.
"I tried. I can't help it that little miss thing here is a spoiled brat!"
"It's not my fault that she whores herself out to you and Brian and Rome to get her own way!" Suki pouted, thinking the fact that Tej and Rome were still close would protect her. No such luck. My hand snapped out and slapped her upside the head before she knew what was coming to her. "Hey!" She whined.
"Shut that mouth before I shut it for you." I did my best impression of Vince's growl. "Besides that I've been with the same guy for the last 6 years. Can you say that?"
"Enough!" Tej broke in again. "Suki, you have your own space, it's time you went there." Suki's bottom lip came out and she looked like she had more to say. "Go!" Tej said firmly and she went, with a backwards glare for me. Tej turned back to me. "I don't know why she's like that with you, she's never acted like that before. She's not really whiney normally."
"Can't take getting her ass handed to her I guess." I smirked.
"Can't be, she's been beaten before. Mostly by guys I guess. We don't get too many female racers around here." Rome added.
"I don't care. I just wish she'd leave me out of it." I said. "So, Tej, you wanna take this bad boy out for a spin?"
"Sure." Tej sounded anything but sure but he picked up the keys and started the car. He left the garage at a snails pace, leaving me alone with Rome, who was busily giving me a look like he had something to say.